Local Blogs

Incoming eats at the Village at San Antonio Center

Mountain View will soon have an array of new eateries at the Village at San Antonio Center, a massive multi-use development going in at the corner of El Camino Real and San Antonio Road.

Paul Martin's American Grill
This will be the sixth Paul Martin's location, with two others in Northern California, three in Southern California and one coming soon in Arizona. As the name suggests, the Paul Martin's menu features a lot of typical American cuisine (mac and cheese, sweet potato fries, dips, soups, salads), plus some seafood (Cajun spiced trout, grilled salmon, fish tacos, cedar plank salmon, albacore), steaks and burgers. All is done with a local and seasonal focus. Think farm-to-table, but less overdone and more affordable. Paul Martin's also has an extensive wine menu with 80+ by-the-glass and 100+ bottles, plus cocktails and a pretty interesting beer selection (both tap and by the bottle).
Paul Martin's is the brainchild of restaurateurs Brian Bennett and Paul Fleming (also the P and F of P.F. Changs and the Fleming of Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar).
The 6,285 square foot space is scheduled to open on Monday, Dec. 9.

Pacific Catch Fresh Fish Grill Pacific Catch signed on to the San Antonio shopping center project earlier this year and will occupy a pretty massive 5,770 square foot space, opening in spring 2014. The Northern California seafood spot was founded in 2003 by two entrepreneurs, Keith Cox and Aaron Noveshen, in a tiny space on Chestnut Street in San Francisco. There are now four Pacific Catch locations, not including the incoming one in Mountain View. Pacific Catch does all things seafood, often with an Asian tilt, from staples like fish tacos and poke to Korean sticky ribs and pan-Asian rice bowls.

Veggie Grill Veggie Grill is a pretty large West Coast chain, with many, many southern California locations, a handful in Oregon and Washington and only one in Northern California (at Santana Row in San Jose). Think healthy, vegan, vegetarian  but not crazy overdone or expensive. Veggie Grill is slated to open in spring 2014.

Nékter Juice Bar
The juice craze will descend on Mountain View in January 2014 with the opening of Nékter Juice Bar, which not only serves a few veggie/fruit juices ("The Cure," "The Glow," "The Greenie," "The Buzz," "The Sublime") but also smoothies and acai bowls. Nékter also offers various juice cleanses, from one to five days long (and from $65 upwards to $300). The San Antonio Center location will be the chain's first in Northern California, joining a large Southern California base.

Sajj Sajj is a Mediterranean restaurant with one brick and mortar already open in Menlo Park and a roving food truck that makes stops around the Bay Area, from San Francisco to Belmont and Palo Alto. They do falafel, shawarma, pita wraps, salads, traditional sides (hummus, babaganoush, tabbouleh, tzatziki, bean salad). You can build your own bowl, plate or stuffed pita. One Yelper reviewing the Menlo Park location might have summed it up well: "This is definitely the Chipotle of Mediterranean cuisine." The Mountain View outpost is slated to open January 2014.

These food and drink establishments all join Counter Burger, which opened in August. But they're not the end of the line.

"We continue to engage with other restaurant operators for the balance of the vacant space," said Mike Grehl, vice president of Merlone Geier, the developer for the Village at San Antonio Center. "We plan on the property being fully occupied before end of 2014."